The present invention relates to processes and devices for assisting persons in weight control or weight loss.
It is widely recognized that diet is important to the health and psychological well being of human beings. Choice of types and amounts of food is an important factor in maintaining or modifying body weight.
Weight reduction diets have become extremely popular and many regimes have been proposed. Many such regimes are based on the simple proposition that in order to lose weight, a person must eat food having fewer calories than she/he requires. The number of calories required by an individual is determined by his/her weight and level of activity. A heavy or active person requires more calories than a light or inactive person.
In order to establish the number of calories that a person requires in a day to support her/his energy demand, a value, termed the basal metabolic rate (BMR), is multiplied by a factor determined by the activity level of the person. The value of the BMR is dependent on the sex and weight of a person and tables of this data are readily available to those skilled in the art of dietetics.
When a person is following a conventional calorie intake restriction diet (known colloquially as xe2x80x9ccounting caloriesxe2x80x9d), his/her daily calorie demand is determined from her/his BMR and activity level. For instance, a moderately active woman weighing 60 kg would have a BMR of 5565 kJ/day and an activity factor of 1.3 giving a daily requirement of 7234 kJ. In order for this person to lose 0.45 kg (1 b) in one week, her daily calorie intake must be restricted to 5142 kJ.
The present inventors have established that merely xe2x80x9ccounting caloriesxe2x80x9d is not ideal and that other factors should be taken into account. However, taking into account additional factors requires the dieter to perform more complex mathematics which is difficult in the bustle of daily life.
It is an aim of the present invention to provide an apparatus whereby a diet regime, more complex than mere xe2x80x9ccalorie countingxe2x80x9d, can be readily implemented.
Various health organizations have provided dietary guidelines, which take into account health and weight considerations. For example, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Department of Health and Human Services issued xe2x80x9cDietary Guidelines for Americans in 1995xe2x80x9d. The recommendations include eating a variety of foods and decrease of caloric intake. A diet low in saturated fat, and cholesterol is recommended, as is an increase in consumption of grains, fruits and vegetables. Other writers in the field have focused on the benefits of low fat/high fiber diets. See, e.g., xe2x80x9cLive Well The Low-Fat/High-Fiber Wayxe2x80x9d, a food plan of the American Health Foundation. While such studies and publications provide detailed analysis of some foods, it is difficult for an average individual to implement these recommendations.
These difficulties have been addressed by detailed programs developed by health professionals. One such plan is the FAT and FIBER PLAN developed by Weight Watchers International, Inc. The plan provides daily guides, food lists and menu ideas. A minimum number of fiber grams and a maximum number of fat grams are allotted each day. Food labels used to gather nutrition information and implementation of the plan involves use of a xe2x80x9ctrackerxe2x80x9d to tally the fat and fiber grams, units of food in the various categories and bonus calories in the foods consumed during the day.
In spite of the value and success of such a plan, there is a need for a weight control or modification process which is more simply and easily implemented by the individual, while accounting for current dietary recommendations of health authorities.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a dietary control process which accommodates a wide variety of food preferences, current body weights, body weight objectives, food properties and serving sizes.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a process of food selection which is easily mastered by an individual seeking to maintain or modify his or her body weight.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a process of food selection which involves minimal study, computation and record keeping by an individual seeking to maintain or modify his or her body weight.
It is a further object of the present invention to express the dietary contribution of each of a wide variety of food servings into a single numerical value, and use those values in an easily implemented plan of body weight management.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide mechanisms for the easy computation of such a single numerical value, based on various nutritional characteristics of a wide variety of food servings.
It is also widely recognized that a program of physical activity may be used to help control body weight. Metabolic calculations have been made to attempt to quantify energy expenditure associated with physical exercise. See American College of Sports Machine, xe2x80x9cGuidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescriptionxe2x80x9d, pp. 285-299.
In addition, prior weight control programs such as the original Weight Watchers 123 Success(trademark) program have attempted to integrate physical exercise into a weight control program also involving dietary controls or restraints. Minutes of activity may be counted to provide a basis for modifying daily maximum points. In spite of the value and success of such a plan their is a need for a weight control or modification process which encourages physical activity and more accurately reflects the benefits of such activity on the individual.
These and other objects and features will be apparent from the following description of the subject invention.
The present invention includes processes for controlling the body weight of a human being. As used herein xe2x80x9ccontrolxe2x80x9d of body weight may involve weight reduction, weight gain or current weight maintenance.
In preferred embodiments of the present invention, dietary properties, such as calories, fat and fiber, of candidate food servings are measured. A point value P for each candidate food serving is calculated in accordance with an algorithm which takes into account dietary contributions of each. A range of total points allotted per day is determined based on current body weight. During a day, food servings are selected for consumption having a total point value within the range. The steps are repeated in successive days to achieve the desired weight control. If body weight changes, the total daily allotted points are adjusted to maintain an appropriate nutritional baseline. Such systems have been marketed by applicants"" assignee as POINTS(copyright) programs.
In accordance with the present invention, a calculator may be provided for assisting a person on a diet regime wherein said person is allocated a maximum daily points target, said points being related to the caloric value and another nutritional parameters of food ingested, the calculator comprising means for inputting a first number related to the caloric value of a food item, means for inputting a second number related to another parameter of the food item, display means and processing means programmed to perform an algorithm so as to process said numbers to produce a resultant points value and to control the display to display said resultant points value.
Preferably, the another selected parameter is saturated fat content, but the present invention is not restricted thereto. For example, the simple sugar content of foodstuff may be used as an alternative or additionally.
In one embodiment, the algorithm is:   p  =            c              k        1              +          f              k        2            
where p is the resultant points caloric value related number, f is the number related to the other parameter, and k1 and k2 are constants. The value c may be a kilojoules or kilocalories and the constant k1 is chosen so that the points target will be in the low tens. Numbers in the low tens are easier for people to deal with than the numbers in the thousands which xe2x80x9ccalorie countingxe2x80x9d involves. If the value c is to be entered in kilocalories, k2 is preferably within the range k1/35 to k1/10, more preferably k1/17.5. However, if the value c is to be entered in kilojoules, k2 is preferably in the range k1/146.7 to k1/41.8, more preferably k1/72.8. The values for k2 are based on the assumption that f is in grams. Suitable scaling factors will be needed if f is in other units. Conveniently, the resultant points value will be rounded up or down to an integer value. However, values in the range 0.25 to 0.74999 may be rounded to 0.5 and values below 0.25 rounded to 0.0.
An alternative algorithm is:   p  =            c              k        1              +          f              k        2              -          r              k        3            
In this algorithm, f represents total fat content and r represents the weight of roughage or dietary fiber in a portion of food. If the value c is entered in kilocalories, k2 is preferably in the range k1/4.5 to k1/1.5, more preferably in the region of k1/4. If the value c is entered in kilocalories, k3 is preferably in the range k1/20 to k1/5, more preferably in the region of k1/10. The values for k2, and k3 are based on the assumption that f and r are in grams. Suitable scaling factors will be needed if f or r is in other units.
Conveniently, the processing means of the aforementioned calculator is operable to accumulate or sum said resultant points value. In this way, the calculator can inform a user of the points used or still available in a day.
Prepackaged food in many countries is labelled with the calorie, saturated fat and dietary fiber content and a user may employ this data in practicing the present invention. In preferred embodiments of the present invention, point values are calculated by the manufacturer and printed on the packaging of the food serving. However, when food is sold loose or served in a restaurant, this information is not available. In order to solve this problem, the calculator may include memory means storing a database of data related to the caloric value and one or more other parameters of a plurality of foodstuffs. Thus, a user will be able to obtain the necessary data by identifying the foodstuff and its quantity. In another embodiment, a slide rule is provided for calculating points values. In a further alternative, point values, calculated according to the algorithm, are provided in tabular form for serving sizes specified in readily estimatable of units.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the daily point range or maximum is determined by determining a range of basic points allotted per day based on current body weight and caloric reduction to be achieved; determining activity points based on current body weight, level of physical exercise and duration of physical exercise; and upwardly modifying the basic range or maximum number of points allotted per day by a whole number of points corresponding to the determined activity points over a predetermined threshold. Advantageously, the activity points are determined in accordance with the equation             k      4      x        ⁢          xe2x80x83        ⁢    kg    ⁢          xe2x80x83        ⁢    body    ⁢          xe2x80x83        ⁢    weight    xc3x97    minutes    ⁢          xe2x80x83        ⁢    of    ⁢          xe2x80x83        ⁢    activity    100
where k4 is determined on the basis of the intensity level of the physical exercise. Preferably, k4 is between 0.05 and 0.2. More preferably, k4 is equal to about 0.05 for low intensity physical exercise, about 0.07 for moderate intensity physical exercise, and about 0.18 for high intensity physical exercise. The predetermined threshold is 1 or 2 activity points per day. The calculation of daily points may be performed electronically in a computing device having a memory including parameters necessary to make said calculations or with one or more slide rules calibrated in accordance with the above equation. Alternatively, whole number activity point values, calculated in accordance with the above equations are provided in tabular form.